translucent
by Lunaroid2906
Summary: AU. The tale of a once-assassin and a violinist, whereas their fate were tangled and tied. But an assassin was an assassin– they were sinful. Nalu. Sequel of Treacherous. Will I able to find you?
1. Prologue

They met at such tender age

And she brought a blue cat with her

But he snapped at her

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"Go away."

His only interest was his violin

But maybe, maybe…

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"Go away."

He snapped again

But the girl, she…

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She smiled

A bright, soft smile

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Bright...

Something he lacked of

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_Go away…_

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"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow night here! Good night, Natsu Dragneel-san!"

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**Prologue**

* * *

He did not know whether was rain or tears; the two liquids had mixed altogether on his face. His eyes focused on staring at the dark alley, trying to find the blond color between the obscurities. His sensitive nose filled with the scent of metallic that almost made him sick. It was her blood, his only hint to catch up with her and prevent her from leaving, yet he failed to do so.

As the rain poured harder and thunder cracked far in the sky, he remembered her blood-soaked clothes; he remembered how bad her injuries were. A deep gash on her neck and one stabbed injury on her side; each spilled blood and colored her dark clothes even darker.

Elysian was dead, lying on the wet ground with Lucy's _katana_ stabbed right at his heart. Looking at his frozen expression made him want to throw out and the scent of blood did not help either. In the end, Natsu did not know his true identity, not that he was desperate to know, but he just wanted to prove that he was really his mother's killer.

_"Your target is me, Natsu."_

_"I am! So now, go and kill me, Natsu!"_

_"You wished to kill your mother's killer and that person is standing in front of you, not even a meter away."_

Natsu did not know how to prove it, but he was desperate to not believe what Lucy said to him. He trusted her, but if what she said was true, then…

"Natsu-sama!"

_"Natsu Dragneel-san!"_

He smiled bitterly, recalling the first time they meet and she called him by his full name. It was late at night, he was in his practice room when he heard her girly voice and turn out she was giving his father's cat back to him. And on the next night she was there to listen him practicing until one night, she was waiting for him on the same spot while it was raining heavily. Since then, she stayed there–

"Are you alright?" a soft tap on his shoulder jolted him back to the reality. He glanced back and saw the butler, face worried and tense. "Let's go back. Igneel-sama is on his way to the house."

Natsu nodded and walked slowly to the car. Fatigue suddenly attacked as he blacked out even before they reached the car.

* * *

"…body of a man… bloody.."

"… but he's dead, a sword.. Sir– we should…no, it must be him."

"My son… no… wait– he did no such thing!"

His eyes opened slowly as his ears caught the voice of his father, Loke and another man he did not recognize. Blur and hazy sight slowly focused to see something light-brown with detailed ornament. The tingling feeling he felt in his head slowly subsided, but the feeling of electrocuted-like was lingering around his body. What in the world happened to him?

"Natsu-sama, are you okay?" he heard the butler asked him, cutting the conversation they had. "Don't move; Porlyusica-sama said that you were drugged so you can't move your body."

Glancing rather weakly to the voice source, he saw the ginger-haired butler with his father beside him; a worried expression clearly displayed on his weary face. Behind the two men, a man with police uniform stood while holding a stack of papers, his eyes full of suspicion as he eyed the boy.

"I will come back later, Dragneel-san. We will try to keep this from the media and the public," with a nod from his father, the man walked out of the room he assumed as his room.

"..Time," Natsu said hoarsely. Considering from his dry throat, he must have been sleeping for two or three hours.

"It's now four thirty in the evening, July eighth," Loke gave him a glass of water and helped him to sit.

Drinking the water slowly, Natsu could not help but wondering why he forgotten about what happened yesterday. "What happened?" he gave the glass to Loke, slowly, trying to remember the last day's activity, "Elysian…" his eyes widened, "What happen to him?" Natsu asked, slightly feeling lightheaded.

"He's dead," his father answered, "with a sword struck his heart. The police only found you and him in that abandoned park and suspecting you as his killer," Natsu flinched at the word, "but your finger print and the one left on the sword's hilt do not match."

"He's dead…" Natsu found himself repeating the information. "Sword… Loke, what is this?" he eyed a wrapped object on his left hand. Feeling the object's edge, it was sharp and undoubtedly made from metal.

"You were holding it firmly when I called you that night. I couldn't detach it from your hand and I'm afraid it will hurt you when you were sleeping so I wrapped it," Loke adjusted his glasses, "It's a dagger."

The boy unwrapped the object and saw a small dagger with no much ornament around the hilt. The hilt was almost gold-colored and the blade itself was shining silver. "It looks like a real dagger," Natsu said as he lifted it to test the weight, "and the weight is average; not too light and not too heavy."

"Porlyusica wanted to examine it, to test if he drug source is from this dagger, but we couldn't detach it from you so she said she will wait for you to wake up," his father said as he leaned back on his chair.

Natsu nodded while continuing on examining the weapon. It _looked_ like a real one and judging from the lack ornament it had, this must be a real one. Tracing his thumb and his pointer finger, he felt a slight difference in the base of the blade. The perfect smoothness was slightly disrupted by a rough carving. Natsu tilted the weapon and saw a carving that was shallow enough to be passed by his fingers. The carving was rough; almost as if another dagger forced to make it.

"L?" Natsu said under his breath. He was sure it was an L letter, not just a random shape. It must be a name, someone's name; the owner of this dagger. But _who_? There were more than a billion names with L as the first letter, whether the first name or the last name. And in Magnolia itself, there must be, at least, a thousand people whose name had L as the first letter. Mumbling inwardly, the boy listed every possible name from A to Z as the second letter.

"Lacey, Lach, Lahar, Lahmi, Laila, Laina…"

_"Dragneel-san!"_

"…Lidya, Lily, Lisa, Lisanna, Lise…"

_"Natsu, you're a genius!"_

"Natsu, what are you mumbling about?" his father asked.

"…Lyna, Lyra, Lynx…"

_"Why do you ask, Natsu-san?"_

_"Thank you so much, Natsu nii-san!"_

"…Lu, Lucca, Lucas, Lucky…"

_"Kill me, Natsu."_

_"I have to go, Natsu, I'm sorry."_

"Lu–"

_"Good bye."_

"Lucy…"

"Natsu-sama? Is something the matter?" Loke asked while inwardly flinched to see the boy; eyes opened wide, mouth slightly ajar, and face slowly turning pale.

"Lucy… Loke, where's Lucy?" he exclaimed, somewhat having a bad feeling.

The butler fell silent and averted his gaze. "You know something, don't you?" Natsu asked, eyes sharp as he gripped the dagger tighter.

"I… I do know something," he said, "I've already explained it to Igneel-sama, but I'm not sure you want to hear what I know."

"Explain."

"Lucy is an assassin," Loke started with a matter-of-factly tone, "I'm sure you already know it, correct? When you were in Veronica, I overheard her mumbling to herself, saying something about the plan. I've suspected her since quite a long ago, since your concert in Crocus; she was nowhere in the house and appeared late at night, some minutes before you returned, holding a black cloak in her hands.

"I decided to take the risk to ask her, which I was surprised that I didn't have to force her to spill it. She told me about her true identity as an assassin, hired by her father, which actually an assassin, too. Her task was to kill you, but she didn't want to so she asked for my help; I have to ensure your safety since I'm the only one who weren't drugged."

"And you failed," Igneel said with a sigh.

"That's right. But Lucy had planted a tracking chip on Natsu-sama's clothes and I was able to call the police and when we arrived at that place, I only saw you and a man on the ground with a sword on his chest," Loke finished explaining, "The police suspect you as the man's murderer, but I know you are not."

Natsu's knuckle turned white from gripping the dagger tightly. Reminiscing to the last night's event, he felt blood drained from his face even more. The body of a man bathed in his own blood made the boy feel nauseous, but the memory of a girl younger than him, battered and bleeding furiously made his whole body shake.

"He was Lucy's father, the one who adopted her. That man… Lucy was the one who killed him," he whispered, but loud enough for the two men to hear, "She killed him to protect me."

Silence filled the room. Igneel stood and glanced to the butler to leave the boy alone. "Natsu, you should rest now. We will talk about this later and no, the public will know nothing about this whole thing," he said with a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Father," he said with voice cracked. Silence followed before he added in a whisper, "Please find Lucy."

The red-haired man nodded solemnly. "I will try to. Now, rest and don't try to think about any escape plan to search her on your own, the drug somehow still works in your body," he ruffled Natsu's hair with a gentle smile featured his face before him and Loke walked out of the room.

"Igneel-sama," the man heard a monotone voice after he closed the door, "Makarov-sama is here to see you," the maid said and gestured to the small old man behind her.

Seeing the old man's serious expression, Igneel nodded and walked to the library, followed by Loke. The maid, Virgo, had served tea for the two men and walked out of the room as Loke stood near the door to guard it, but close enough to hear the conversation.

"Natsu will not be able to hear anything here," Igneel said, "Is something the matter?"

The cross-legged old man nodded with closed eyes. "It's about Natsu's friend, the young girl you adopted not too long ago."

"Lucy?"

"Yesterday around five in the morning, Mavis found her on the street with blood all over her body when she was heading to work. According to her, there are a deep gash on her neck and a stabbed injury on her side. She contacted me and explained about the whole situation and told me to tell you," Makarov explained. "But yesterday, you were busy with the cops so I decided to tell you once things had settled down."

"Where is she now?" Igneel asked.

"In the hospital, but knowing the weirdness of her injuries, Mavis signed her as her sister and not giving much information about why Lucy has those injuries," he added one sugar to his tea and sipped it quietly, as if to relax his rigid body.

Igneel inwardly sighed in relief, knowing his attempt at finding her were now a lot easier. "How is her condition now?"

Putting back the tea cup on the table, Makarov cleared his throat and said, "She is in a coma, having too much blood loss and vicious internal injuries," the old man leaned back and grabbed his pipe from the pocket, "Care to explain things? And seeing Loke is here, I bet he knew something, too."

* * *

**to be continued-**

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**your thought? please review**

**or should I discontinue this one?**


	2. Daiisshō: 6-Nen-go

He had heard it countless time

Either from his mother or from his father

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And he never did once care about it

Not that he understand it, too

Yet now...

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_You only treasure something once you have lost it_

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He finally fully understand its meaning

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**First Chapter: Six years later  
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Tonight, Natsu wore all black.

He was barely visible, and his dark brown violin was not helping either. Black suit and black trousers fitted just right with the background. If not for his recognizable, idiosyncratic salmon-colored hair and his pale-white skin, one could not spot him easily in that place.

The white muffler was long forgotten; it had been safely kept in his drawer, untouchable and unreachable from whomever except him. He found it bothering, since he had to detach it from his neck to prevent his grip on the violin loosened from its slippery texture. And then, there were these blood-marks that won't wear off even if he had washed it multiple times.

Not that he really tried to wash it off, actually.

Natsu stood almost rigidly. He could feel the constant stare his manager threw at his back. He knew he should be playing that piece by now. But his hands, one gripped the violin tightly while the other held the bow, were hung stiffly on his side. Face expressionless and stoic, he darted his gaze to the papers in front of him as he tried really hard to ignore the sudden recollection of the bitter memory.

He took a slow, deep breath.

_I should be playing this piece by now_, Natsu inwardly scolded himself, _and I shall not remember that damned memory, I really have to stop it._

He exhaled slowly, but it was shaking. And thus, he came to the conclusion.

He could not.

Those bloods– it was hers, a proof that she trusted him, that she wanted to protect him, and that she did not want to kill him. He remembered one night in the past–he used to softly press his thumb to the biggest mark. It was the ugliest one; the once-red color had changed into an ugly brownish color. Nevertheless, it was hers; a proof that she trusted him and a proof that he was weak.

"Natsu…" he heard his female manager said his name softly from the backstage. He knew that she knew what his sub-conscious did, although the flashback had ended, he did not have the courage to play that song. It was the same, just like a year ago. Even though it was his masterpiece, he did not have the courage to play it and ended up playing another song.

It was unprofessional of him, he knew it, but he just could not.

With a heavy sigh, he lifted his violin after made a brief eye contact with his father on the other side of him in the backstage. Once he caught a curt nod the old man made, he placed his violin in the crook of his neck and started to play the instrument. The song was nice, but not as good as his masterpiece. Natsu did not miss the heavy sigh the male manager make, along with the following mumble of his name the female whispered.

* * *

"Can you still not play it?"

Natsu had to break his gaze on the moonless sky at the question his manager asked. His hands were shoved into the pocket of his trousers, gesturing that he wished not to be disturbed now. His violin that used to be in his hand was now kept in its case, along with the papers of his masterpiece.

"Not yet," he replied without changing his posture, "the time isn't right."

"And you said the exact thing last year," Makarov stood at his side, glancing to the dark sky. "Natsu, you've spent five freaking years composing that song and you never once play it on public."

"Six years, with tomorrow, it will be six years," Natsu corrected, eyes were now back to the drifting clouds.

"Six years is a long time, Natsu, you know it," Makarov exhaled, "And you haven't changed your mind about finding that assassin-girl."

"She is not an assassin," he snapped. "She _was_," he added.

"She is, even by now," Natsu felt a stab through his chest. Remembering her sad smile as she said her last goodbye–it was simply depressing. "After all; her sins aren't easy to be erased," the old man continued silently.

The teenager said nothing. He gazed to anything but to the old man beside him. The moon was now visible as the clouds had drifted away and uncovers it. His blank features were now visible as he continued to stare at the moon. Crescent moon, he inwardly laughed bitterly as his lips formed an unpleasant smile. He looked down to his wristwatch–it was now eleven fifty-four. But his eyes focused more on the small number beside the number three.

Seven.

And then, another seven beside it–

July seventh.

Natsu could not stop the frown. Today was July seventh; he should be visiting his mother and sister's grave, and yet, instead, he busied himself all day with work. Sadness suddenly crashed in just like a wave, making him drowned in pain, unable to breathe. Seven was not his lucky number; he had grown to hate that number. Three people he cared about died on that date, if Natsu could convince himself that she was dead, then that statement was true.

"She's still alive," he found himself muttering it, "She is alive, I believe it."

Makarov only nodded in silence and put his wrinkled hand on top Natsu's fisted hand in several soft strokes before left him.

Natsu sighed. Six more minutes and it will be a full six years of heart aching, unfulfilled wish to find her, to meet her. He remembered six years in the past, the unwavering figure in front of him, back faced him as he bit back the urge to scream. He saw blood trickling down her feet and slowly reaching to his bare feet. And then he felt blood splashed and then trickling down his cheeks, dripping to his white muffler. He saw red. Beautiful scarlet red. And then he saw her, bloody and battered. She was protecting him.

His eyes widened, stunned to see the girl he wanted to protect was now protecting him instead, covering the brutal sight of the man with the small back of hers. His hand gripped the ground so hard; he wanted to go instead being protected by her. But his legs were still and his mind was blank. For the barest of a second, his mind finally proceeded and thus, he came to the conclusion. He was weak. He could not protect himself.

He was _pathetic_.

Brows furrowed, Natsu started to turn away, ready to go back to his mansion and sleep away the nasty thoughts. But maybe he needed to arrange back his masterpiece. It had to be perfect. And powerful, and cheerful yet mellow, and–

Just like her. After all, the song was dedicated to her, and only her.

He had vowed he would not let anyone hear it except her. Tonight was not an exception, he was a man with his word, and he won't break his private promise to gain stupid fame and more job contract. At least, this was the last promise he could do to her. And for six years-long, he had not once played it in front of public, not until he found her. Because she was the first person he really wanted to listen to it.

The cold wind almost made him shivered. He started to miss his warm white muffler these nights around. Deciding that the wind was too cold for his liking, he walked to the black car in front of the tall building. A butler with ginger-colored hair opened the door as he nodded in silent gratitude before he climbed into the car. His father was already there, eyes closed and arms crossed as if in a deep thought.

Natsu did not say anything as he made himself as comfortable as his car would make him. Then the car started to drive away and passed a highway. The male teenager rested his chin on his hand, but his gaze never off of the crescent moon far above him. A question he frequently asked himself played in his mind. Over and over, replays multiple times, an endless question with only two possible answers.

He bit back a groan in distress. He then averted his gaze to the small houses far beyond him. Lamps, with different color met his eyes. It was a breathtaking sight, a little entertainment of view in a modern city such as Magnolia. He used to think that Magnolia was a small city with modern architecture in his youth, but then, as he grew older, he noticed the slum in the outer area of the city.

Magnolia was big. And in six years' time, he had not once able to trace her whereabouts. He had asked the help of the police in secrecy to find any girl with blonde hair and brown eyes. The result was impressive, more than three hundreds result of girl with those characteristics, but none of them was the girl he searched.

With a small sigh and continuing to ignore the stare his butler threw at him, his mind could not help but to ask the same question back to himself again.

_Will I able to find you?_

Yes or no?

In truth, Natsu already knew the answer, but he did not want to believe it. He was afraid if his answer matched and he would never find and meet her ever again. But, but…

But the fact was he never did find her once. His nightmare, his fear of really losing her was immense. He did not want to lose her like the way he lost his mother and sister. She was his sister, Natsu thought bitterly. She was still a part of his family, officially or not. She must come back to her family, to the Dragneel family. She must come back to him.

Onyx eyes darkened.

* * *

**to be continued-**

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**a/n:**

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter~ Just a little information, **Natsu is now 19 years old** since this story happens six years after treacherous happened. Well, I have nothing more to say, so why don't you just **review** this one?

Neru-chan... I read your review at school and that moment, I just didn't care about my language teacher who was teaching; just lemme go and give you a big warm hug! I was like '_just give me a damn airplane ticket to Malaysia and lemme find you and give you a hug!_'. I really don't want to say this here, but I guess I can't PM you since you don't have account here, so.. I'm really _really_ sorry for your loss, Neru-chan. I hope they are now in God's care, happy and safe. I kind of know that feeling... Anyway, please don't, I mean _don't_, shove any kind of durian to my throat because I've updated! See! And yeah, about durian, I hate it, I despise its scent, just... ew. See you next chap!

Please **review**! And I will love you so much!


	3. Dainishō: Kodō o teishi

_Natsu,_

_Please meet me at noon on July seventh._

_-Igneel Dragneel_

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**Second Chapter: Stop beating**

* * *

Natsu was sixteen when he first saw her. That cheerful smile she beamed at him reminded him of her, but nevertheless, this girl was not her. Even though their eyes and hair were different, she had this similar aura to her. This girl with blue eyes was his new partner, and she played piano. Her talent was excellent, and apparently, she was also a prodigy.

She was Lisanna Strauss, an orphan with one big brother as her only family. While she was a pianist, her brother was an amateur violinist; he just recently quit the choir group. But the old man, Natsu had to approve it, he had talent, too.

The two Strauss joined Fairy Tail when he was fourteen. Up until three years ago, if Makarov did not force him to meet his new partner for a duet in Crocus, he might not know her into this very day. The duet was successful, no harms done as the king had wished. Remembering the incident six years in the past, the king had been increased the security to make sure his daughter was safe. But Natsu, a little part of him wished the same incident repeated, and he made sure he could catch up with the culprit this time.

Call it as desperate, but it was the truth.

Today, he was supposed to meet her. Natsu checked his wristwatch as he tapped his foot impatiently. He sat on the leather couch and decided to not snarl at the smoke the old man-manager produced through his pipe uncaringly beside him. His dark-colored eyes, then wandered to the girl that leaned to the wall with a video game player on her hands. Apparently, she just bought it yesterday and determined to beat the hardest boss in that game. Natsu just could not get the logic of his life sometimes.

The room they were in was silent except for the constant foot-tapping sound and the back-sound of Mavis' game. Then, suddenly, the door burst open and a panting girl entered the room. A drop of sweat was visible on her forehead as she looked like she would collapse anytime.

"You're late," was all Natsu could say, despite the urge to snarl at her lateness. The short-haired girl only staggered to the stool of the white piano while trying her best to fill her lungs with oxygen.

"It looks like you just did a marathon, Lis," Mavis said, her eyes did not leave the game. "What happened?"

"Traffic jam," the girl in question said between pant, "A very bad traffic jam. Just what's with the street nowadays? I had to pay the taxi with some extra Jewel because the driver said he didn't have the change and I had to hide from the cops who chased a burglar down the street when I made a run to this place and you welcomed me with a _you are late_ statement, Natsu, you know what? You're a cold-hearted person," she exclaimed at the end as she pointed at Natsu's face.

"I'm just stating the truth," he said nonchalantly.

"But it's only passed ten minutes from our appointment time! You can be more considerate, Natsu," she huffed her cheeks in frustration. "Oh wait, I think I'm forgetting that you're also a perfectionist, a perfectionist freak," she added.

"Let's just start the practice, I have another appointment in the next three hours," he said as he opened his violin case.

The girl gritted her teeth as she placed the papers in front of her. "You know, you're not just cold-hearted, but also arrogant, I think I've never met someone as arrogant as you are."

Natsu stood beside her and placed the violin in the crook of his neck as he said, "Respect your senior."

"Fine! Whatever you say, Natsu-_senpai_," she hissed and started to play her part.

* * *

Mavis slumped on the couch beside Makarov. She lost just before she could even make a move to attack the boss and now her mood was bad. Her eyes wandered to the pair of musician on the corner of the room. Their playing was in a perfect harmony, neither of them missed even a single note.

"I just don't understand," Mavis said.

Makarov opened his left eye and stopped his smoking. "What is it?"

"They bicker each time they meet, but they played beautifully. I just can't understand it anymore," she gazed at the ceiling absent-mindedly.

"It's a nice thing, though, Natsu opened not for anyone but her. Those first three years were like hell to me, the worst part is the one when he said he wanted to quit his job," Makarov explained with a snort. "I thought I'm gonna have a heart attack, well, who wouldn't?"

The wavy-haired girl swung her feet back and forth as her eyes stared at the ornament of the ceiling. She could not read the teenager as easy as other people. He was good at hiding his thought and his facial expression was as flat as ever. Today's Natsu was not much different from the one back in six years ago, if not a little more demanding his personal space.

Her black video game player was forgotten on her laps. Its battery had run out and she did not bring the charger along with her. She was left with nothing to do, but to continue listening to the duet while thinking over the plan to revert Natsu back to his old self.

"_Kami-sama_, I prefer the past's Natsu than today's Natsu," Mavis, finally, said to herself.

"Me, too," she heard the old man muttering.

"I can't think of any other idea to change him back to his old self. This Natsu is gloomier and way too melancholic," she muttered back.

"Me, too," Makarov sighed.

Mavis frowned and gazed at her feet instead. "Is the only way to change him is for him to find her?"

"Find her then what? Ask her to come back?" the old man folded his arms over his chest. "I don't think it's that easy, she's an assassin after all, and _if_ she isn't by now, I'm sure she hasn't forgotten the incident six years ago, which make her harder to face him."

"Hasn't he given up on trying to find her?" she asked.

"No, not yet, don't you know? He even asked the police force to help him find her; any girl with brown eyes and blonde hair."

"And the result?"

"None of them was the one he searched, I don't know if that's a fortune or a misfortune."

This time, Mavis sighed and said, "Let's hope it was a fortune, he will need something, or someone, to move on to. He can't continue to live his life like this."

* * *

_I know, I know it already_

"Let's stop," Natsu said while trying his best not to voicing his thought out loud. He could not let his two managers know that he was clearly heard what they had discussed when he was playing.

"What? Why? We still have… other three papers to practice and I'm confused about this one! We should practice more!" the pianist exclaimed, then looked over the clock on the wall. "We only played, like, ten minutes! You'll waste my hard effort to go to this place!"

Natsu looked at his wristwatch, eyes focused on the smaller numbers. "It's July eleventh." _And actually we played for almost an hour._

"Yeah," Lisanna rolled her eyes, "so what?"

"Do I have to remind you again?"

"Oh, is that about your appointment? Who? Who is it? Is this person your girlfriend? Is she pretty?" the girl jumped and, instantly, stood near Natsu with eyes full of curiosity. "Can you introduce me to her?"

"No."

"Why?"

Natsu merely shrugged and put his violin back in its case, ignoring the tantrum the young girl made. His dark eyes met Makarov's, whom lit in the silent approval, and a small nod from the female manager. He lifted the case and walked to the door, once again ignoring the growing tantrum of the girl's, and made his way to the car in the basement. Vaguely, he heard the vague explanation Mavis told to Lisanna about his appointment.

"It's about his private life, Lis."

Natsu made a mental note to thank her later. Maybe a double-scoop ice cream would do.

* * *

His father never summoned him so formally in the past six years–no, he never summoned him so formally at all. So his letter, a hand-written letter, picked up his attention immediately. He knew; they had been distant in these six years. Both of them had totally focused their mind only to work, and searching for a certain girl in Natsu's case.

The letter came to his room, along with the breakfast Loke brought him, two days ago. The sloppy handwriting was the characteristic of his father, untidy and the words were all in italics. The message was short and blunt; a message to meet him at noon on July eleventh.

Nothing more.

Gripping the letter tightly, Natsu walked into the study, the only place where he could find him working if not in his office. He knocked, and tried not to sound rushed, before a low voice told him to enter the room.

There was a sliver feeling of hesitation as he tried to turn the knob. But he brushed it aside, and as he stepped in, he could not shake the bad feeling he suddenly felt. Makarov followed him and made him as comfortable as he could–without smoking, of course–on the couch, while he just stood in front of the door and gazing at the busy man behind the mahogany desk.

Piles of papers almost made the young adult could not see his father's facial feature. A hand on the laptop's mouse while the other working with the pen. Natsu could judge by the sound of the tip of the pen as it made contact with the paper–his father was working so hard on whatever the paper's content was.

"Father," he called to gain his attention, "is there something you want to discuss with me?"

The man, with more wrinkle adorned his face than Natsu remembered years ago, finally lift his head and turned it towards him. Natsu saw weariness in the old man's eyes and those eye bags under his eyes added the impression of him being a workaholic. A small half-empty cup sat near his laptop, probably the daily routine of caffeine dose. The man reached for his cup and drank the coffee before letting out a content sigh.

"Have a seat, Natsu," he said as he closed his laptop, "and don't be so stiff, it's been a while since our last conversation."

Natsu sat beside the white-haired old man, fingers moved inside his pocket as he rubbed the letter almost nervously. But he couldn't place a finger on what he was worried about or why did he feel so restless.

"I know you never have any interest of being the successor of our family's company, so don't worry; I won't talk anything about it," his father stretched his stiff arms and yawned. "Well, how are you doing?"

Confused at the normal conversation they were having, instead of the bad feeling lingering around his chest, Natsu only replied, "Fine."

"Still having concerts here and there with your damned violin, I see," he heard him muttering more to himself and trying to carefully not too loud for him to hear. Suddenly, his father's eyes eyed him, as if searching for something. "Where's your scarf? You know–the one you used to wear anytime, anywhere?"

Natsu was hesitant to reply it at first, but the silent stare from his side urging him to quickly answer the question. "I've… stopped wearing it for a long time ago."

The old man's lips set in a thin, straight line. "Is it because of her?"

"Wha–"

"No, don't lie to me, Natsu," his attempt to counter the question was interrupted as his father interjected and continued, "I'm not totally focusing myself to work and neglecting you, son. It's because of her, correct? I've seen you staring at it absent-mindedly, to a spot with dark brown color."

This left Natsu speechless.

_When did he see me...?_

"So, after I told you to give up, you haven't actually given up yet, have you?"

Natsu bowed his head and stared at his knees instead. His hand formed a fist in his pocket while the other gripped the couch tightly. He heard a sigh from his father.

"Natsu, I don't want to tell you this, but if this helps you to stop your futile act of trying to find her, then I will."

"It's not futile!" he yelled. "I'm going to find her! I will find her!"

"Find her then what? Ask her to back to you? Natsu she's an assassin, her life is far too different with yours and mine," his father stood and walked to him.

Natsu's eyes gleamed in suspicion. "You know something."

"Indeed," his expression fell into one that was grim, "in fact, I should be telling you this since days ago, but part of me prevented me to do so, at least until today."

His tall figure slouched as he sat on the couch across him. With head hung low, a moment of silence later, he straightened his back, making his eyes meet Natsu's.

"Natsu," he said in a low tone after glancing at the older man beside his son, silently telling him to pay attention as well, "what I'm gonna tell you might not pleasing."

Natsu felt his heartbeat beating more rapidly. Hands suddenly turned cold as a knot appeared in his stomach and chest. He couldn't breathe properly, heck, he felt as if suffocating. This bad feeling getting bigger and bigger each second passed. He was not sure if he could hear it, he was not sure if he wanted to hear it.

"Son, you should stop your attempt on finding her," his father said. "It's futile."

His eyes widened, but he refused to glance away from his father. "..Why?"

"Because she's–" Natsu felt heart beating even louder, as if it was going to burst and stopped any time. "The girl you used to know is no longer here; Lucy's dead."

His heart stopped its beating.

* * *

**to be continued-**

* * *

**a/n:**

Sorry for the long wait, I'm busy with school and shits. And please don't get mad if there any of you reader is a haters of Lisanna. No, I'm not Lisanna's haters because I think she's a sweet girl, my friend said she even support nalu in the manga.

And no, I add Lisanna not without any intention, she will play nicely in this story.

Don't forget to **review**, okay? If you review, I'll love you so much! By the way, thanks for the previous' reviews~

**Neru-chan**, you can be a psycho sometimes, eh? Imagining a girl fell from the sky after the plane kicked her out of there, lands next to me safely and shove a durian while I'm _struggling _to write a chapter is really giving me the chills. By the way, I love long review, you should write longer next time! It's kind of a mood booster to me :D

**Rikotsu**, me, too, although I play piano. But when I felt sad, the song I played sounds sadder than I intent to. Thanks for reviewing! And you're very welcome! Just remember that I only update when I have the time to do that. See you next time~

**U don't say333**, I dunno, but I'm planning to and I'm trying to make it end happily! Thanks for asking!

**Titania-san**, yep, Natsu is 19 years old. Time sure fly so quickly, ne? Anyway, thanks for reviewing! See you later!

**xXxFallenAngelprincessxXx**, I'm sorry but I don't think they will attend school, Angel-san. At least not around this time, but who know what will I do? ;)

See you next chapter all!


	4. Daisanshō: Aimai

**Third Chapter: Ambivalent**

* * *

Gray clouds hung high in the sky as it drifted away closer to where he was standing. A hand clenched and unclenched in his pocket while the other gripped the handle of his violin case tightly. He started to feel the chills of the wind, now that he only wore a thin black shirt with gray jeans.

Silently, he brought his hand to the neck and, as if nervous, he rubbed the brown spot on his white muffler.

How he missed the warmth around his neck like this, but he did not want to show it to many people. But this time, it was an exception. Lucy wasn't just anyone. Not a stranger or someone he disliked. And Loke, too, was not an outsider. The loyal, ginger-haired butler stood behind him; giving some space he knew his master needed it the most, especially around times like this.

Loke was the older brother Natsu never had. He was the one who slapped Natsu back to the reality, away from the darkest, deepest mind of his, away from the negative thoughts. And he literally slapped him, in the nastiest way possible of slapping someone, when he heard him talking to himself about quitting his job to focus more to his search for Lucy.

_"You're the stupidest master I've ever been loyal to in my life, you know?" he said after the slap. "But maybe you're not the as retarded as my previous one. I know you can still think straight, Natsu."_

He smiled bitterly at the memory. His butler sure knew how to slap. It was the first time the butler ever angry with someone, or at least, to him. Loke was a patient man, never once showing an angry expression or grunting under his breath to himself.

But what would you do if you lost three people at the same date, making you impossible to not hating and cursing the date for the rest of your life.

Still rubbing the same spot over and over, Natsu just wanted to present himself to her in the nicest way possible, to make her sure he wasn't overly upset. And he just wanted to make her believe that he was still the same Natsu even though six years had passed.

But he could not shake the pain that spread through his chest. To not see her was painful enough, and there he was, standing two meters away from a tree with a small tombstone on the ground. The owner of it was clearly engraved on the epitaph, an elegant and clean carving of a familiar name. The name of the girl he always searched for six years.

_-Lucy-_

And to see her in this form was simply heartbreaking, soul-piercing, and mind-numbing.

A thunder cracked far in the sky, creating a booming sound while giving warning to the people around the area to hide behind their umbrellas and houses. The wind created a howling sound, furiously blowing the crumpled, dead leaves from the ground to the sky, dancing wildly as if welcoming the soon-arriving storm. But Natsu just simply did not care. Let the storm raging around him, but he won't leave this place. No, not yet.

Then the sky calmed a little in the way of the 'calm before the storm'.

The violinist felt the constant stare on his back. His butler, probably, but he ignored it. He knew the meaning of his stare, a silent message of urging him to do whatever he wanted and finished it before the rain, or the storm, started.

But a millisecond before he opened his mouth, he felt a drop on his shoulder. Looking to the sky, he saw more rain drops falling, still levitating in the midair in a sharp, long line. More of it fell to his face, one of its even fall to his eyes, but he didn't waver. It would be his punishment for whatever he lacked when she was with him.

His hand fell to the side, no longer touching the brown-spotted muffler on his neck.

"Na–"

"You can go back first, Loke," he spoke, interrupting the butler even before he completed his name. "Or if you prefer to wait in the car, then you can wait there."

Another droplet touched his lips as he continued to stare at the crying sky. Maybe the sky also felt the grief he was feeling throughout the day.

The rain was getting immense, the once-drizzle changed in a second into a downpour. Natsu heard the sound of an umbrella being opened, but he knew his butler wasn't going to offer it to him.

Let this rain be his punishment was what he could say in the silent message as his eyes closed, savoring the coldness of the water. Then, he heard the sound of shoes scuffed against the wet ground between the sounds of the falling water, slowly getting far away from him.

A small sigh escaped his lips.

_Kami-sama_ hadn't punished him well. Being drenched in the rain wasn't enough.

He deserved more.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and let his head hung low. Some small trails of water could be seen on his sides before some droplets fell, either to his jeans or to the ground. His eyes were downcast and focused to his shoes. He could not bear to see the small stone in front of him, the only mark that she ever existed in this world.

Onyx eyes darkened.

Even the world seemed to not notice her existence at all; no one noticed her.

His grip on the handle of his violin case tightened. The pain was spreading through his chest, numbing his senses. Natsu shut his eyes tightly, preventing his eyes to see the anything, to see the tombstone. But his mind projected the picture, and then her expression as she cried, then more of her when she smiled. His mind filled with her and it was agonizing.

So he decided to open his mouth.

"You're stupid."

And he could almost hear the exclamation directed to him when he said the same thing in the past, followed by several punches on his shoulders.

Such tiny fist, making no pain at all.

The young violinist opened his violin case. Holding the violin and its bow, he ignored the rain and played a song. The song he promised no one would hear except her as the first. His masterpiece, all of his heart and soul–his _Lucy_.

* * *

Makarov could only sigh as he continued to stare at the back of his old friend. The man, Igneel, was staring at the outside through the window. It was raining outside, a downpour to be precise, but the man kept on staring there. Makarov could not place his finger on what was inside Igneel's mind right now, but there was definitely something off about him. And that statement from yesterday, Makarov wanted to slap his own head for not able to stop the echo. It was… ridiculous. Unreasonable, odd, confusing.

_"Lucy is already dead."_

It was weird of Igneel. He took a day off from his work, and since his arrival in his old friend's study, he hadn't seen him touching his laptop or the stacks of papers.

And Natsu, too. It was _very_ strange about him suddenly asking for a day off. Yesterday, after the announcement of Lucy's death, he only gave his father a shocked expression before he walked to the door. A question of having a day off in the day after was the last thing Makarov heard before the door closed softly. And since his arrival at the mansion one hour ago, he hadn't seen the teenager either. No one seemed to know where he went to because, from Makarov's silent investigation, the young Dragneel also dragged his loyal butler out with him.

And then…

Lucy was dead.

Makarov didn't want to believe it, but he didn't have the proof of her existence as well. He could not defend the teenager even if he wanted to. But, truth to be told, until now, Makarov didn't believe the news. Igneel could speak for all he cared, but the one who held the truth was Mavis, and Mavis won't give it away easily. Even for a person such as Igneel won't get the answer easily from her.

"Mavis-san told me," Igneel suddenly spoke, breaking the silence with his booming voice across the room, yet it sounded weak, "that Lucy wanted to meet me."

Makarov twitched his rigid jaw while slowly pushing away the thought of Lucy's death. The old man tried to focus more on the new information. Mavis told him by herself? Just like that? So easily?

No way in hell she did.

"What?" the tone coated in distrust more than he intended.

"Lucy wanted to meet me and so I met her, but we didn't see each other; a curtain hides her form," he said. "She was in a clinic in a small village far from Magnolia, bedridden."

A small relieved expression came across his wrinkly face. "So you didn't bribe Mavis to let you meet her?" Makarov asked.

"Of course I didn't," the red-haired man chuckled forcedly. "Mavis-san told me that she was… dying. The girl, her voice was small, as if she forced herself to talk. She told me to let Natsu know about her death a month after," Igneel's voice sound pained in Makarov's ears. He sighed. "Lucy told me that she wants to be a doctor when our conversation changed into a small talk. Apparently to atone for her sins."

"But she can't," Makarov continued.

Igneel nodded softly. "But Mavis-san told me after our meeting ended; 'two that are meant to be will find their way'. That left me confused, was she tried to cheer me up? Natsu won't die soon and follow her, would he?"

"I don't know about that, Igneel," Makarov sighed. "You won't know what run inside Mavis' head, and, apparently, this is for the good for everyone."

This was for the good for everyone, Makarov told himself. Natsu could finally live his life normally, and moving on.

Yeah; moving on might be the best solution.

* * *

He played the song, ignoring how soaked his body was or how wet the violin was that would be in the care of Lyra for maintenance for days. The downpour had decreased into a drizzle, and his body was shaking lightly from the coldness. But this was his punishment, he deserved it. Natsu closed his eyes as he continued to play; relishing the coldness of every drop of water around his body.

The song almost ended when suddenly the rain stopped completely.

"Onii-san? Nee-san said that you will catch a cold if you keep wearing your clothes."

His playing stopped immediately.

Natsu whirled around and saw a brown haired young boy holding his hand with a girl with a black blindfold. And the rain hadn't stopped–a gray umbrella perfectly shielded him from the falling water as it now fell on the girl.

She was… blind, wasn't she?

Lips set in a straight line, her grip on the umbrella didn't waver.

"Onii-san, what are you doing here?" the boy in transparent yellow raincoat asked.

Natsu ignored him, or rather; he couldn't tear his gaze from the girl.

The girl, she couldn't be older than him. She had this calm atmosphere around her, serene, tranquil. Somehow this girl reminded him of Lucy, but the Lucy in her youth carried a more cheerful atmosphere.

The violinist crouched to place the violin and the bow back to its case. He wanted to stare longer at the girl, to remind him more to her, to give him hopes that she was still alive. But hopes were all hopes. Lucy was already dead.

She was already dead.

_Lucy was dead._

"Onii-san?"

"It's none of your business," he snapped between his gritted teeth, and saw at the corner of his eyes that the young boy flinched.

Something disturbed him. Something, that he wished he never noticed, caught his onyx orbs. It was only a coincidence, she couldn't be has it. He didn't want to remember it, he didn't want to accept it. He shouldn't have seen it. It broke his heart, it shook his certainty.

She shouldn't have shielded him from the rain, she shouldn't have come, and then, he wouldn't have to see it.

The teenager's hand formed a fist.

It was all her fault.

It was all her _fucking_ fault.

But, nevertheless.

He had seen it.

_Warm and golden, just like the sun._

_She is like the sun,_

_Warm and golden._

It was only a coincidence, right?

Natsu gritted his teeth as he shut the case roughly. It had to be a mere coincidence and moreover, she was blind. This girl, whatever her name was, who shared the same hair color with Lucy, couldn't be her. After all, there were many female with the same golden hair as Lucy in Magnolia.

_Kami-sama…_

_Is this my punishment?_

_Kami-sama…_

_Kami-sama…_

It was only a coincidence, right?

…

…

It had to be a mere coincidence.

_They say that a person has seven twins all over the world._

It had to be…

It had to be…

_Please don't make me_

_hesitate_

She couldn't be her because

_Kami-sama…_

Lucy was already dead.

_Kami… -sama_

…

…

…

_…–kill me._

* * *

**to be continued-**

* * *

**a/n:**

Greetings, readers. Well, I should've updated two days ago, but I had these stupid exams that prevent me to update and forced me to study. I know it sucks, but hey, I just late for two days.

And today, I should be at school right now, but this morning, I was feeling nauseous and light headed so I decided to stay at home. And apparently, I will not have a score for the physics' post test. Well, whatever.

Anyway, thanks for everyone who reviewed the previous chapter! **Neru-chan** has the longest review and I like it, it was hilarious, too, the real mood booster! And yeah, Neru-chan, I killed Lucy, muhahahahaha! But Natsu not going to commit suicide, it's stupid. Ne, Natsu still alive now so Mavis will get her ice cream! Yaay!

Well, rest assured, Neru-chan, for I'm not going to turn Lisanna into a bitch here. But, seriously. *inhale* Why does author have to make Lisanna as the third person? Well, in that case, maybe I'm included. And in the end she's a real bitch. Well, it's their (author's) rights to make a character ooc or not; it's their fanfic, after all. I'm not a NaLi or Lisanna's hater, but that doesn't mean I'm shipping them. NaLu is my OTP beside Jerza. And I think I've made Natsu and Lucy ooc enough so I'm not going to make Lisanna ooc as well. I think it's fair.

Okay, I'm officially rambling.

So I hope NaLi or Lisanna's haters won't kill me after I post this and after they read this note. Respect each other's opinion, okay? I don't want to start a war and make my fanfict as the war zone, no. I don't want to read any review that flame me about my acceptance of Lisanna because–

Oh shit, I'm rambling again.

...

Well, because pigs aren't flying today. **Neru-chan**, feel free to use 'flying pigs' or 'flying bull' or whatever on your review.

Anyway..

Please **review**! And I'll love you forever! And just ignore my rambles above, it's useless for you to read. See you next update!


	5. Daiyonshō: Hakujitsumu

**Fourth Chapter: Daydream**

* * *

If Natsu were asked to list out things he hated, _Kami-sama_ knew how many papers he would need to complete such ridiculous task. Being as cold-faced and genius teenager as he was; there need not much guess for a stranger to know what things he hated. It was obvious that he hated loud voices. An exception for music, he hated all sources of loud voices. And he despised an unsynchronized loud voice–the one his fangirl made every time he was out of the training building to get some fresh air.

Those girlish, high-pitched voices could deafen his ears. Moreover, those voices reminded him to her when they were younger, which made him officially despised it. The so-called lucky number of seven was, however, in the first rank of his hating-list. Three people he cared and loved were dead at that cursed date. He hated the coldness of the winter, he hated nosy people, he hated liars, and the list goes on.

And then, there was another thing that he hated–blankness. Blankness as in he couldn't think of anything. That was rare for him to be in that state, but lately, it became a habit of his which he did it unconsciously, making he lost his time track and ended up wasting it. That habit was in the worst state around six to five years ago, the one Loke kept calling it as the depression ages. He had returned to his normal-self a year later, which his butler slapped him to bring him back to his life.

But alas, old habit hard to forget, since his father told him about Lucy was already dead, his mind started to go blank as he stared into nothingness. Onyx eyes would lose its color and he won't move at all. Just like now.

The violinist had crouched on the ground to pack his violin longer than he intended. Ten minutes at most, but nevertheless, he was wasting time. His mind screamed for him to get out of that place quickly, but he knew he wasn't in a hurry. Yet he did.

Natsu stood and forced a small smile as he read the epitaph for the last time, before turned around. The girl in black, knee-length dress and the boy who tried to hide behind the girl came to his sighting. He only stared at the girl, whose hair was damp from the rain, rather intently. He noted how similar the color of the girl's hair to Lucy's while silently wondering if her hair would be this long if she was still alive.

The hair that almost reached her waist, the hair that would flutter when the wind brushed softly against it, the hair that would remind him of how bright she was.

_Golden-colored; just like the sun._

Silently, he walked past her, out of the shield of her umbrella to the wetness of the rain. Just for today, he would try to love the coldness of the water. But then, the rain stopped, making him stop dead in his track. From the shadow on the ground, he could figure that the umbrella was shielded him again. Not bothering to look back, he started to walk in faster pace, but the umbrella kept following him.

"I don't need your umbrella," he snapped through his gritted teeth.

"B-But nee-chan said that you will sick if you keep walking under the rain," the boy said hesitantly in the girl's stead. "Nee-chan once almost had a hi… hipo… hippopotamus! Nee-chan said she was out in the rain for too long, that's why."

_Hypothermia_, he corrected bitterly and restrained himself for having another flashback. There was enough for flashback, reminiscent, nostalgia, or whatsoever. It was enough.

"Then tell your sister to use the umbrella for herself," Natsu said as he walked away.

As he made his way back to his car, he scowled and threw a series of curses mentally for having to meet the girl and the boy. Thanks to her, he now couldn't get the smiling face of Lucy out of his mind. And when he was finally able to, her sad smile was the one that appear.

Reciting back to his mental list of what he hated, he didn't need another second to decide it; he hated that girl.

* * *

Natsu walked to the room where the female pianist had arrived. The sound of a song being played leaked out as soon as he opened the door. Lisanna was there, playing the piano softly with her small shoulders slightly slouched in a relaxed manner. Natsu closed the door silently without making any movement from the door as he continued to listen to the song. Apparently, the song was her newest original composing, since he had never once heard her playing it.

When the song ended, Natsu could hear with his sharp ears the small sigh from the girl. Deciding to present his presence to her, he walked to her and placing the violin case on the table. "That was good," he commented as he took his music instrument out of its case.

The girl turned her head sharply to him, making him wonder if she really didn't realize he had been standing near the door since one minute ago. "Really?" she asked, face slightly red.

He nodded wordlessly and did some scales to make sure Lyra's fixing was as excellent as the usual. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the girl's eyes slightly downcast. Her head turned back to the piano while her fingers slowly, almost tentatively, traced the white keys before pressed them thoughtlessly, creating some voices across the silent room. "Well, thank you, I suppose," she said with a small smile.

Natsu kept on scaling wordlessly while peeking through the corner of his eyes at the girl. Silently, he noted her weirdness. Maybe not weird, just off. She was not at her usual bright and cheerful self. Not bright, but not dim either. Just, silent.

So Natsu decided to push his luck, since her silence irks him somehow. "You're weird," he said.

"I'm not weird! You are!" she yelled. "Oh, but maybe I am, but still, you're weirder than me."

Natsu hummed to himself. He knew something was bothering her, but if she didn't decide to tell him, then so be it. After all, she never asked him about his problem when he was moody. Mostly because he was frustrated for not finding her, but now, it was not a problem anymore.

It really was not a problem. But… his work, his energy, his time–all were vain. Because in the end, his father was the one who discovered it and told him. He never did once get a clue about her, not even a trace of her whereabouts, but his father did. That crushed his pride, but he was grateful for it, too. At least he could visit her every weekend.

"Natsu?"

A small hand waved slowly in front of him before a pair of bright blue eyes met his dark one. In a reflex movement, he stepped back with eyes still wide open. "You alright? Should I call for Mavis-san or Makarov-san?" the girl asked in concern.

As if perplexed, Natsu looked at his surroundings. A black baby grand piano stood behind the girl. Slowly, he cast his head downwards, gazing the violin and its bow in his tight grips. Since when he stopped scaling?

"What?"

It was the girl's turn to raise an eyebrow as her hands placed on her hips. "You looked like sleeping with your eyes open, you know? I thought you were having a trance or something," she sighed. "You scared me, Natsu. Don't do that again, okay?"

Natsu could only nod. As the girl made her way back to the piano seat, he felt his hand slightly damp. And he felt some wetness on his forehead. Putting the violin and its bow back to the case, he drew out a handkerchief from his pocket; wiping away the sudden harsh release of sweat on his forehead and hand.

_What the hell…?_

Mind blank. Just like the old time, having a constant, continuous daydream or deep thought resulting him drenched in sweat. Every time he thought about her, or anything related to her, his mind would refuse to think any other than that one. Every time he was about to go back to the consciousness, memories would pull him back into the deepest of his complicated mind.

Memories about their first meeting was the most often memory that was played in his mind. He could almost _hear_ her high-pitched, girly yell from the ground to him who were in the second level balcony. And then, the memory changed into her bloodied body when he almost got killed. Blood. Warm and thick. Beautiful scarlet-colored, warm and thick liquid.

And then he heard she said it. Those dreaded words that haunted him days and nights. The words that pierced his mind, unable to let go and forget. Words that made his heart pierced with thousand needles, only to be rebuilt and pierced again. Again and again. Day in and out. Those dreaded words of hers.

_'__Goodbye'_

And this was for sure. It was the real good-bye for both of them. Her tombstone, her name engraved there, her body…

_Did I really feel lost–?_

"Natsu, pay attention!"

Slowly, he shook his head from left to right. It was decided then; he really needed her.

* * *

**to be continued-**

* * *

**a/n:**

...

...

...

...

sorry?

...

...

...

um... for the.. uh... lateness..?

..

..

.

.

please..?

pleasedontshoveduriandownmythroatpleasedontshoveduriandownmythroatpleasedontshoveduriandownmythroatpleasedontshoveduriandownmythroatpleasedontshoveduriandownmythroatpleasedontshoveduriandownmythroat...

anyway, so sorry for the lateness, I'm busy and was sick for days. Unable to even touch my laptop-_- and so sorry for the length...

please don't kill me

but please review...


	6. Daigoshō: Jū Gatsu

**Chapter Five: October**

* * *

.dull-colored grass, red and yellow-colored leaves dancing in the sky

a flock of birds fly high

deers develop its antlers

mushroom grows between the dull-colored grass

cold and crumpled, melancholy and sweet

**.**

**..**

**...**

_translucent_

**_..._**

**_.._**

**_._**

_(A male teenager playing his violin in the middle of the rain,_

_eyes closed and lips set in a thin, straight line_

_as if in a deep thought and_

_a fallen red leaf falling beside him.)_

_._

Natsu stood before the building in front of him. It was a two-story building with a small front yard planted with light purple _Nadeshiko_ and bright yellow _Ominaeshi_ right behind the white wooden fence. He noted that the short bushes which stood in the same line as the flowers were cut in sphere and cubic shapes quite nicely. While the small building's wall painted with pastel blue, the veranda that made of wood was painted in white, along with the three wooden stairs connecting it to the small cobble path of the front yard.

The teenager opened the short gate and walked to the veranda as he silently glanced around to see the rest of the small yard around him. There was a cherry blossom tree, which its leaves were in reddish orange color, stood tall on the left side of him. On the other side of the cherry blossom tree, there was a gingko tree, flashing the most brilliant yellow color. A small swing, presumably a handmade one, was swaying softly as the wind brushed past it.

He rang the bell as soon as he saw the doorbell. A small, coffee table-like between the two single sofas quickly filled with his violin case. With hand stuffed in his pocket, Natsu leaned lightly to a wooden railing that connects a column to another one. There were four columns on the veranda, and it seemed all of them were carved with four different symbols.

"_Sakura_ is for the spring, the sun is for the summer, a Ginkgo leaf is for the autumn, and a snowflake is for the winter," a feminine voice pulled him back from his focus on the piling gingko leaves beside the tree. He turned around and saw the long, wavy-haired girl with her neon green eyes meeting his onyx one. "Long time no see, Natsu," she said, making the greeted teenager raised an eyebrow. "Well, four months is a long time, I suppose. Anyway, please come inside!"

Natsu followed his female manager into the inside of the building. Wallpapers in more than three different pastel colors were all over the wall. She led him to a wide porch with a low table and two cushions around it. "You don't mind green tea, right? I'll be right back, just relax and make sure you're comfortable while waiting, okay?" and after saying it, she disappeared behind the white screened _shoji_ door.

Letting out a quiet, small sigh, Natsu only then realized there was a small pond beneath the porch he was in. The tranquility of the surface of the water somehow managed to make him relaxed slightly. Enough to make him free from his stressful thoughts, but not quite enough to let his mind wander into the blankness.

The sound of the door slide open made him regained back his composure. Glancing over his shoulders, he saw the female manager of his walked in with a tray of tea. A traditional ceramic teapot in dark brown color with two matching cups were quickly set on the table. "Sugar?" she asked.

"No, thank you," Natsu replied as soon as she finished pouring the green tea into his cup. She opened the lid of another ceramic in white color, ornamented with two pink _sakuras_, and put one into her cup.

Each was busy with their tea as they enjoyed the scenery of the crystal clear pond in front of them. The _susukis_ swayed gently against each other as the water created a small wave from the wind.

"Everyone is out today," Mavis started after taking another sip of her tea, "doing a mushroom hunting, apparently. No one other than us in here, so, no need to worry about being disturbed," she smiled.

Natsu nodded as he took another sip of his tea, savoring the bitterness spreading through his mouth down to his throat, making his stomach warm once again. "What is it you want to talk about?" he asked.

Mavis gently placed her half full tea on the table. "I want to apologize," she spoke with head slightly turned downward.

"For what?"

"For not telling you about… about Lucy sooner."

His lips quivered, wanting to change into a frown, but he held it. He couldn't show any displeasure in front of her. At least not after what she had done for arranging this little meeting of them. "No, it's fine."

"What?" she asked, the tone thickly laced with shock and confusion.

"It is fine," Natsu repeated. "It's not your fault," he sighed before continued, "and it's… her fate. We can do nothing about it."

Mavis's eyes softened, showing relief and another thing he couldn't decipher. Eye lashes lowered and hid her jet black eyes, those expressive eyes. When those long lashes lifted, the feelings that once there were gone. Round eyes became hazy, glinted in sadness and regret. "You've grown, you know? You're moving on."

The salmon-haired teenager answered in silence. He was moving on, but it didn't mean he could simply forget her. Something told him not to, yet it hurt him to keep on daydreaming about her. "_Shiki no Ten_?" he asked as he remembered the wooden signpost behind the gate.

"Yeah, I support this place," she answered as Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Don't look so confused like that. Is it weird for me to half-own an orphanage?" she frowned.

"No, I was only…" he blinked, "surprised," he told her almost hesitantly. "You never once talk about it."

The white dressed girl placed the cup on the table. The glint in her eyes was enough to tell him that she was not going to tell him the reason, not that he asked about it. Natsu placed his cup before he stood and leaning to the railings. Beneath him, a fish swam in the water and approaching him before another one followed it. Looking at the sky, he saw a flock of bird fly in the high sky, looking for a warmer place it seemed.

Autumn wasn't his favorite season because of the damp air around him and the spider webs that suddenly appeared around the bushes in the garden of his house. And mushroom started to grow bigger in the corners of his house's garden, only to be disappearing in the next day; picked by his chef to be cooked with the omelet. While he didn't completely like the season, he did appreciate the cuisine of the autumn.

"Where have you been since July?" he asked, eyes not letting go from the clear sky.

"N-Nothing! Nothing important!" she answered, gaining a strange look from him. "What?" she asked.

"I asked you _where _you have been," he said, stressing the word she failed to notice.

"Oh, really? Sorry, I must be zoned out," she smiled sheepishly and scratched her cheek. "Well, I'm at somewhere you won't bother to find out," Natsu narrowed his eyes at the answer. Something must be happening in those four months and it must be a serious thing. The Dragneel shook his head; it wasn't his concern if she had a problem of her own.

But she hide something.

Something… he knew that he should be known.

"You missed my concerts."

"Yeah? How much of it?" she asked. Eyes back to the normal, know-it-all look.

"Four."

She laughed sheepishly. "And with the one in the last week of September, I've missed five concerts, I'm sorry, Natsu, I've been busy with… things." Mavis said as she played with the hem of her dress, tracing the detailed lace from one edge to another. "I heard you did a duet with Lisanna, the one in the middle of August, if I remember correctly."

Natsu nodded. Remembering that time, he almost wanted to laugh as he remembered his partner's nervous face. "I bet she was sweating furiously, it was her first time to do a concert in the palace, after all," she continued.

**t****r****a****n****s**

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**l****u****c****e****n****t**

"MAVIS-NEE! MAVIS-NEE!"

The _shoji_ door burst open as the childish voice screamed. Natsu turned and saw a boy in a gray jacket and a white scarf around his neck. The boy was panting, as if he had been running for such a long distance.

Mavis quickly sat the boy beside her, giving the tea to the boy as he drank it. "Kyo-kun? What is it? Is something happening?"

"A-Ayano-nee! Nee-chan is–!"

Blood left her face. She didn't dare to hear the rest.

"Where is she? _Kami-sama_, what happened there?!" she was now almost screaming. "Natsu you should go back now. The children are getting back, and you have an appointment with Makarov in an hour, correct? You should go now," she said before dashed away.

It was only Natsu and the boy in that porch. Deciding to obey Mavis, he bent over to take his violin from the wooden floor, and get into the eye contact with the boy. Black hair and a pair of matching black eyes. Natsu swore he had seen this boy, somewhere, sometime ago. But he couldn't place his finger where or when.

The boy stared at him, wide eyes full of curiosity and a little bit of concern, but he said nothing. "Onii-san? Who are you?"

_'Onii-san, what are you doing here?'_

"Ooh! Are you a violinist?" his eyes now focused on the violin case in his grip. "I play violin, too! Mavis-nee teaches me all about it!"

Natsu ignored him. This boy was sure loud, and he didn't need any other children gawking at him just because he brought a violin along with him.

"Onii-san, don't you remember me?" the boy asked. Why did he bother asking who he was when he knew something about him. That irked him.

"Who are you?" he asked through gritted teeth in annoyance. Mavis was right; he needed to get out of this place. And fast.

The boy frowned and fiddled his index fingers. "Um… I think we met a long time ago, in Nee-san's friend's grave…"

_'Nee-san said that you will catch a cold if you keep wearing your clothes.'_

Then the gears all clicked. This boy was actually _that_ boy? He found he couldn't speak, words failed him as he remembered about his meeting with the boy and the golden-haired girl in Lucy's grave.

But… Lucy was this boy's sister's friend?

"Don't tell anyone that I was here, got it, boy?" Natsu said as he walked away, and heard a loud screech from the boy not to be called 'boy'. Opening his phone, he got a message from Loke, telling him that he was already there to pick him up.

Walking across a crowded room, Natsu got a glimpse of the dreaded color of golden. Long golden hair that fell on the floor was smeared in scarlet red. Natsu noticed a small blood trail was visible on the white floor, indicating to him that someone was bleeding, probably that Ayano-girl the boy mentioned earlier. Deciding to take a quick glance inside the room, he saw a figure on the bed, circled by children and Mavis on her side.

A girl. Skin as white as snow. Hair just like the sun. She was mixed of the Snow White, the Sleeping Beauty, and the Red Riding Hood.

She was… beautiful, despite the condition she was in, she was simply beautiful.

And that blindfold, making her eyes covered from the world. She was innocent. And whereas she was the Red Riding Hood, he would be the huntsman; saving her from the bad wolf.

Stop it.

She isn't Lucy.

_But she is just like her._

_What if she is… her?_

No, she is dead!

_If she's her, then will you–_

His eyes met Mavis's. A shot of warning made him quickly walk out of the orphanage building. The sky darkened as he felt rain fell to his hand. His car was there, with Loke standing on the outside.

"What's with those children?" Natsu asked as they enter the car.

"A girl was bleeding. No, she was coughing furiously and coughing blood," the butler replied. "I wonder if she had tuberculosis. That would be dangerous for every child in that orphanage. Shouldn't we help Mavis-san takes her to the hospital? "

She couldn't be having tuberculosis, Natsu thought. If she did have, Mavis and the other children wouldn't be circling around her. Or at least Mavis would tell the children not to get too close to her.

"No, Mavis can handle it. If she does need help, he would've asked me."

"You're right. You're the only one who can help her and that girl, yet she chose not to. I wonder why," the ginger-haired butler opened his notebook and wrote something in it. "And what surprise me the most," Loke continued, "although her face was covered with a cloth, she's so similar with…"

"Lucy, I knew," Natsu sighed and ran his fingers through his salmon hair. "I've met her once."

"Really?"

"Her brother said she was Lucy's friend."

It was Loke's turn to be silent. He muttered some incoherent words under his breath; even Natsu couldn't hear what he was muttering about. "Well, it's relieving, then, to know that Miss Lucy had a friend."

Natsu rested his chin on a hand as he looked at the scenery. It was now raining a little bit heavier. A thunder cracked, sending a crooked bright blue lightning in the sky down to the earth.

_If she's her, then will you–_

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.

_(Because even if season changes, this feeling won't go away._

_It's getting stronger and painful._

_So please._

_Please let me meet you once again.)_

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_Rrrrrrr..._

_._

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_Rrrrrr..._

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_Rrrrrr..._

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_Rrrrrrr– click!_

_._

_._

_._

"What is it?"

_"Hey, Natsu! Are you busy?"_

"...No, I'm at my break."

_"Well, I just want to ask if you want to go to the park tomorrow."_

"No, thanks."

_Click!_

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_Rrrrrr…_

_._

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_Rrrrrr…_

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_Rrrrr…_

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_RRRRrrrrrr- click!_

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_._

_"Natsu, I haven't finished talking yet!"_

"If you only want to go to the park, then ask someone else. I'm done here."

_"Wait! Wait, please wait, Natsu!"_

"…"

_"I want to discuss something, it's about…"_

_"Uh... Well, I can't tell you about it now."_

"Can we just discuss this thing over the phone?"

_"No! I need to meet you, it's not proper to discuss it now."_

_"Anyway, meet me tomorrow at ten sharp, okay? See you tomorrow!"_

_Click!_

.

.

..

_(A female teenager in a black blindfold,_

_sits on a swing_

_a small smile on her face_

_lonely, lovely smile.)_

..

.

.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself!"

_I'm sorry_

"Stupid! That's why I don't want you to go along!"

_..._

"Listen, I just don't want you to endanger yourself." A sigh. "I don't want to lose you, so _please_, listen to me, will you?"

A nod.

_I will, and I'm sorry. It won't happen again._

* * *

**to be continued-**

* * *

**a/n:**

A quick update as my apologize of the previous chapter's lateness-

And yeah, it's freaking autumn now, and if you confused why is it raining in July although it's summer, well, sometime it does raining even if it's really rare.

And this story is going to be in a slow pace, because if I rushed, it will be bad.

Give me your thought about this one! Critics and suggestions are appreciated as usual.

Please **review**! Love you all! See you next chapter!


	7. Dairokushō: Akahitoha

**Sixth Chapter: One red leaf**

* * *

_{there is a memory I cannot forget_

_and that is the scene_

_of the cherry leaf over your shoulder}_

**...**

**| t |**

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**...**

Hand tucked in the pocket of his black coat; he leaned back to the lamppost. His eyes were slightly downcast as he glanced at the wristwatch. Ten minutes remaining until the promised time. Closing his eyes, he let out a soft sigh. Natsu muttered some incoherent words to himself, making a white smoke slip out of his mouth. Although his mouth was hidden behind the…

The white muffler.

_Tell me again the reason why I wear this._

_Because you hate cold._

_Hm._

"Natsuuu!"

Head lifted to the source of the voice, he saw a girl in a pastel colored coat running at him. A wide smile plastered on her face, just like a child about to be given a lollipop. Upon arriving at his side, she panted, making the salmon-haired violinist raised an eyebrow.

"You looked like you've done a sprint," he commented dryly.

"A sprint!" she yelled between pants. "More like a marathon! You see, my purse was stolen when I was about to give this driver the money and no one, I mean _no_ _one_, helped me chasing this boy – yes Natsu, a little boy – and when I finally retrieved back my purse, I saw my wristwatch and I was like 'oh darn, I'm going to be late! I'm late! I'm late!' and run around the _whole_ park to find you. Why can't you wear something bright so I can spot you easily? If it was not for your _pink_ hair, _Kami_ knows how many times I would spend to find you."

Silence took over. And she panted. And again. And again, since she talked without stopping to breathe.

Natsu had his eyes narrowed at her mention of his _salmon _hair. "You're loud," he commented, again.

"WHAT!" she screeched. "Natsu! How dare you! I'm not–"

The male teenager felt the urge to cover his sensitive ears, if only not because of the comfy-ness and the warmth his pocket gave into his freezing hands. Natsu swore his ears would bleed if he heard her screeching like that for the second time.

"Shut up, people's staring."

He saw the girl shut her jaw immediately; she glanced around to see the visitor peeking at them. More like peeking at _her_. And then he heard her mumble something about feeling déjà vu. The silver haired girl plopped herself to a bench next to the lamppost and let out a shaky sigh.

Rubbing her gloved hands together and blew a hot breath into it, she huffed as she stared at him. "Well? Why don't you have a seat now," and patted the empty spot beside her.

"It's cold," he stated coolly.

Lisanna rolled her sapphire eyes. "I can _feel_ that," she said sarcastically. "It's autumn! What do you expect? A personal glaring sun following you everywhere you go? Psh, puh-lease," and she snorted.

And without any second thought, he began to walk away, causing the girl to stand up quickly and running lightly to match his brisk pace. "We find a café or I'm leaving," but there was no threatening tone in it.

"_Hai, hai_," Lisanna nodded with a smile. "Anything to reduce your temper, Grumpy-kun."

…

It was a small café Natsu coincidentally found on his way back from a client's place. The strong scent of coffee lingered around the place with the vintage touching. A big, old gramophone played its vinyl records, sending a cranky yet beautiful melody all over the room. And two tables from the music player, Natsu and Lisanna sat as a blue haired waiter wrote down their orders.

"A black coffee," Natsu ordered and shot a look at the girl across him to quickly decide her order.

"Well, excuse me for taking so much time to decide," She glared at him, "because they all sounded delicious! Wait, what is this 'anopie'?"

The waiter tapped his chin with the pencil. "It's a pie with ginger and chocolate in it, and some strawberry jam on the top. It can be served with ice cream if you want," he explained.

"Okay! Anopie it is!" she said in a high spirit as she heard the word strawberry.

"Wait!" and upon hearing the exclamation, Lisanna look up to the cashier and saw a scarlet haired woman – a chef, probably because she wore a chef's hat – leaned on the counter. "If you like, no, _love_ strawberries, then I recommend you to try our special strawberry shortcake!"

"Strawberry shortcake?" she pondered. "Well, I've just eaten one yesterday, but let's give it a shot! A strawberry shortcake and anopie it is! Oh, and I want vanilla milkshake! Can you add more whip cream, please?"

The waiter nodded and quickly added the second dessert in his paper before left. Lisanna smiled in gratitude before turned her head back to face Natsu, only to get a look from him. She tried to lift her eyebrow, just like what he usually did when he was confused, but failing epically.

"Really?" he asked, a small smirk appeared when he spotted her trying to mimic his trademark gesture.

"Hmph," she puffed her cheek, "It's not like I'm going to be fat immediately. I don't care if I'm fat, as long as I'm healthy and happy."

Natsu crossed his arms in front of his chest as he leaned back to the sofa. Staring at the sky through the big window, he noted that he couldn't be there for a long time; he didn't bring any umbrella with him and Loke had an appointment with someone until noon. "So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh, right. Well, it's- oh, thank you," she paused as the waiter came back with their order.

He straightened his back and asked, "Will this be all?"

"Yep! Thank you so much! Er–" she paused and read the nametag on his upper shirt. "Fe.. Fernandes-san, yep, thank you!"

The waiter smiled and left, greeting other customers and led them to the empty seats. Lisanna took a quick gulp of her milkshake and set it aside, and then looked at the anopie and the special strawberry shortcake in front of her with glittery eyes.

"I don't see the specialty of that cake," Natsu deadpanned.

"Well, if you pay more attention to the top of the cake, you can find it," she said, chin held high in attempt of showing superiority since he couldn't locate the thing at first sight.

He stared, unblinking, before saying, "It's only a whip cream."

"Wroooong!" she stated, now smiling in triumph. "Look at it more closely, Natsu, I suppose your eyes are fine."

He stared, unmoved, before saying, "…it's pink."

"Yep! You guessed it right!" a wide grin now appeared in her shining face.

"Stupid," he muttered under his breath. "Just answer my question already, it will rain soon."

Her hand stopped in the midair with a small fork ready to devour the cake. Blinking twice, she put the utensil and straightened her back. "Well, you see… It's about Elf-nii."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. Elfman was Lisanna's sibling, one of the freshmen in the violin division, which Natsu acknowledged his talent in both singing and playing violin. He nodded and instructed her to continue.

"You must have heard about Aruto-senpai," she said, a bitter expression crossed in her face. "Well, he mocked Elf-nii's original piece. Lyra-san must have told you to make your own original piece, right? She ordered the same to nii-san. In the next session, Aruto-senpai was there when Elf-nii played it and he said it was the worst original song he ever heard."

"And that crushed Elfman's pride," Natsu continued.

Lisanna let out a sigh. "Who won't if you were told like that? Seriously, if I were in nii-san's place, I would slap him and told him to not comment it so bluntly," she jabbed at the poor strawberry shortcake and ate it angrily.

Natsu sipped his hot coffee. Aruto was his rival (well, he always ignored him because he was annoying) when it came to violin and original song. It was his natural personality to mock or shame people in public. Mostly because he didn't want anyone surpass him.

"So you want my advice about it?" he asked evenly.

"Yeah.. but it's okay if you don't want to! I know you're busy with concerts around Fiore, but if it doesn't bother you that much…" she stood up with narrowed eyes. "Please, help Elf-nii return back his confidence!"

Silence followed as soon as she said that and bowed deeply. Natsu face was flat as he stared at the girl whose head facing the table. Her silver white hair fell forward, covering her determined expression in her eyes. Hand clasped together in a silent hope in front of her lap. Natsu wasn't close to Elfman, nor did he often see him around Fairy Tail building. And it wasn't he actually cared about him in any way.

He sighed, running his slender fingers in his hair. "Alright," lips slightly tugged upwards, he said, "Meet me at my house next week," and sipped his coffee.

"Really?" Lisanna lifted her back slightly. "You mean, you will? For real? Thank you so much, Natsu!" And she hugged him in a bone-crushing hug across the table, making him protest in both shock and the awkwardness of their position.

As soon as she let go of him, she quickly dug into her cake while Natsu just drank his coffee silently as he glanced at the outside. Thick gray clouds hung high in the sky and the leaves swaying in the air. Standing up, he made his way to the cashier and paid for his and her orders.

"Natsu, are you left already?" Lisanna asked before stuffing a spoonful of cake in her mouth.

He nodded. "Loke couldn't pick me up here," he said, "and it's gonna be raining soon."

"Oh," her mouth hung open slightly and quickly dug into her bag. "Here, you can borrow it from me. Just in case if it's raining and you haven't reached your home."

She threw it to him and he eyed it almost doubtfully. "It's pink," and he threw it back to her.

"Well, if you prefer nii-san's umbrella, then here," she threw another umbrella for him. And he was relieved for it had a dark brown color. Natsu nodded in gratitude and walked out of the café.

As if on reflex movement, his legs led him back to the park, deeper into the small forest of cherry blossom, maple, and gingko trees on the boundary of the park. The forest was quiet, only the rustling sound of leaves against the wind and the birds chirp that he could hear.

Head held high, Natsu stared blankly on a _sakura_ tree. The wind blew once again. Leaves started to dance in the air, but the reddest one caught his eyes, fluttering in a tender movement across the small clearing in front of him. And slowly made its way to the other side of where he stood. The leaf's movement was like a slow motion in his eyes – he could see the details of it as it continued to whirl.

..

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_{swaying in the wind_

_._

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_and falling down gently_

_._

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_there is a red leaf over your shoulder}_

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..

The leaf came to a stop, and so did his eyes. Of all places in the clearing, he wondered why it chose to land there.

Long golden hair fluttering as the wind brushed past it. The leaf once again dancing in the air before falling lightly on the ground. Natsu's eyes focused on the owner of the golden hair. A black blindfold across her small face, tied securely behind her head in a small bow. Her head tilted upwards, as if looking at the darkening sky – unmoving.

But he knew; the blackness was everything she could see.

His face was impassive. But a hand that held the umbrella was shaking. He wasn't mad, he wasn't scared; he didn't know why he was shaking. He didn't move, even if he had the slightest urge to get away from there.

That was when _Kami-sama_ played in oh-not-so-nice-manner to him by sending a huge amount of water in a jabbing downpour. Quickly, he opened the umbrella and stood under it. His eyes weren't losing the sight of the girl. He expected her to run in panic as the rain touched her and find a shelter beneath the trees.

But she didn't.

Head still tilted upwards, she didn't make a move even for an inch. Only her lips slightly tugged upwards as more water fell from her head to her dark coat. And then, her lips parted, only to be closed and parted again. Between the rains, he couldn't hear what she said, or at least he guessed she was talking to whoever he didn't care to.

Walking a little closer to her, he finally figured some words from her lips' movement.

They were '_Kami-sama_' and 'punishment'.

He stopped when her lips closed, back to the same straight line he saw before the rain started. And he guessed she would leave the place immediately. He was wrong. She chose to stay there, soaked in the rain rather than finding a shelter (which was already useless by now).

What he did afterwards couldn't be in his sanity.

Because in a second later, he stretched his hand and held the umbrella above her.

* * *

**to be continued-**

* * *

**a/n:**

Well, nice seeing you all here again, reading another chapter of translucent. I updated because I know I will not have any other time to write and update this chapter except now.

If any of you love Vocaloid, you must had known about a song called _Akahitoha_. Well, I was listening to it while I typed the chapter and it gave me the idea about the last scene of this chapter. And the words in the brackets are actually the lyrics of it in english.

As usual, please **Review**! Leave suggestion or critics in the box under this, will you? Or maybe question? I will gladly answer it, of course!

By the way, _anopie_ I mentioned earlier was from two words of _ano _(it's in Japanese, meaning 'that') and pie so you can literally call it as _that pie_ which is the most delicious pie Erza and Jelal sell in their cafe~

I'm not owning Fairy Tail and the song, got it?

See you next chapter!


	8. Dainanashō: Sono egao

**Chapter Seven: That smile**

* * *

_{there is only you and me_

_and the rain sound_

_and the feeling of dull ache}_

_._

_._

.:.

_~translucent~_

.:.

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_._

Lips set in a rigid thin line, he held back a flinch from the touch of the cold water. The rain immediately soaked his coat. But he didn't retract his stretched hand. The girl in front of him slowly had her head tilted to his direction. A questioning gesture was visible as she hesitantly touched the umbrella, right above his, almost like an inch away from touching.

Her covered eyes met his, and he fought the urge to look away. For some reason, he just didn't want to stare straight at her – not that he could actually stare at her eyes, but still... something was odd, giving away a surreal feeling that ran down throughout his spine, but it wasn't quite clear.

Wet black blindfold clasped tight to her skin while the remaining loose cloth hung saggedly behind her head and touched the small shoulders of hers. A small frown was made, but it was gone in the barest of a second, replaced with the same small straight line. There was no expression that came from it, only a hint of curiosity that visibly seen through her gesture.

Yet something told him to back away. And quick. But he did not move, nor did he make any other movement except hold still the umbrella. The echoed sound of his beating heart filled his ears, and it got louder each second passed. Heart beats ringed in his ears and head. It was better than having the sensation of being studied–

He was alarmed.

Quickly, he shrugged off the feeling. His concentration went back to the coldness that spread around his body. Numb was all he could feel in his free hand as he kept it clenching. There was no way she was actually studying him with a piece of cloth covering her eyes– she was blind, wasn't she?

Onyx eyes narrowed slightly and turned downcast. "You're going to catch a cold," he said after a long pause. The girl tilted her head even more, but kept her lips pressed together in a straight line. Natsu gritted his teeth.

"It's an eye for an eye," he muttered before turning his head to face her, "we're… even now."

The girl quickly stepped back, away from the umbrella, into the rain. Her action caught his attention as he followed her. One step back, one step ahead. His stretched hand kept following her movement in an attempt to shield her from the water. For what reason, he didn't know. He didn't want to know.

He stopped. She had her back facing him. Two hands were visible on her sides, as if clutching something. Natsu closed his umbrella, seeing that it was useless by now, and put it on the ground.

It was when he noticed it. Her body was shivering, and he heard a silent gasp from her. She was hugging herself, enough for him to take the hint that she was scared. Natsu couldn't shake the feeling of guilt and concern that swelled in his chest. But his hand lifted and landed on her head, gently stroking it as if to soothe her.

The teenager thought she was going to flinch and inch away from him. Yet she was still there, within his reach, but he did no more than patting her head. Something told him not to do anything more than patting her and he ignored the feeling of wanting to touch her more. She was a stranger, he should not do more.

_But it feels right… for wanting to touch more_

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..

...

_{a girl sits on the ground_

_head turned upwards_

_golden hair brushing the grasses_

_long black cloth lay beside her}_

...

..

.

.

"What are you doing here?"

He asked after a long silence. His hand was now on his side, gripping the side of his wet coat. The girl's lips moved, parted, but no voice was made. Natsu stared at the girl's lips. She repeated the same word for him to understand, but he still couldn't make the word. Suddenly, the girl reached for his hand and traced his palm with her index finger.

Natsu stared at his hand. "Waiting?"

She nodded softly.

"You're waiting for someone?"

She nodded again.

He sighed. "You should go back now," he said, "you're soaked."

_"You, too,"_ she wrote on his palm.

"I'll be fine," he replied.

The girl's head turned slightly downwards, as if trying to locate his hand with her covered eyes.

_"Warm,"_ her hand gripped his, making him surprised slightly.

"It's normal for me," Natsu said.

And then…

Silence.

Looking at the girl in front of him, pale skinned as she was on the other day, he felt the slightest desire to entwine their hand together. Such a small hand; barely able to circling his hand. And tiny wrists that as if they could snap with the softest tap. But slender fingers, delicate and small.

She was like a flower, delicate and beautiful. Small and innocent. A beautiful golden-colored flower amidst the scarlet red leaves. And– mortal.

His chest hurt. Jabbing pain that won't go away, only increasing every second passed.

A hard intake of breath, he opened his mouth, "What is your name?"

The girl traced his palm with her finger, slowly and a bit carefully. There was a small hint of hesitation on her action. But she continued, and the tracing was smooth and light.

_"I'm Ayano."_

He found himself muttering her name, slowly, soundlessly.

And then, she continued.

_"I can't talk," _she paused, head tilted as if searching for his eyes, _"and I can't see either."_

.

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.

..

..

..

...

_[so, prithee, doth betoken me, mine lovely singing bird,_

_whose fate hath God play with,_

_'r whose fate hast thou encave from]_

...

..

..

..

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.

The _susukis_ swayed as the wind blew, making a small wind chime that hung beside a column to create a soft sound. In the middle of the veranda, on the table, there was a set of tea cup; two that had not touched while the third was held by the owner.

Gray clouds rolling in the sky and drifting quickly to another place. The rain had finally stopped, but the peculiar smell– mixture of rain and earth stayed longer than the cotton-like clouds. Autumn wasn't the best season for having a tea party, especially when the supposed-to-be party was quickly ruined by some tall tale that worked almost like a magical spells that hypnotizing the listener.

The nice, and hypnotized, listener was actually two men, even more far older than the storyteller herself. The two men opened their mouth and said the exact same word at the same time.

"So you're saying that she's alive?"

Mavis sipped her green tea while trying very carefully not to choke on it as she heard the exclamation coated in confusion that came from the guests across her. A muffled gasp could be heard from behind the _shoji_ door, mostly came from the kids who were trying to eavesdrop their conversation.

She placed the porcelain cup back to the table and folded her hands on her lap. "More or less, yes," her gaze set straight back and focus on Igneel's.

"She's alive," the red-haired man repeated the statement, "she's alive and yet you told us such a lie–"

"I had to," she interrupted, "I had to do that. It's for the sake of their future."

Makarov closed his eyes. Some wrinkles appeared on his forehead. "'their' as in Natsu' and Lucy's, am I correct?"

The white-dressed girl nodded, before sparing some glare to the _shoji_ door direction, scaring the kids away for daring themselves to eavesdrop and peek at them. Loud and obvious hurried footsteps were heard as she sighed.

"Why, though?" Makarov continued.

"Both of them had suffered enough pain six years ago, I don't want them to experience it again."

Igneel ran his fingers on his hair. A tired sigh escaped his lips and he leaned on the railing to ease his hurting head. "So, Lucy's alive, she's staying here, of all places you can choose, _and _in an alias. Maybe you should start to tell us the whole story."

"I can only give you the outline, if that's okay with you two," she said, eyeing the men behind the table.

Igneel shook his head. "A full story should do it."

"No, I'm afraid I can't do that," Igneel's eyes opened, an unspoken question obvious in his dark eyes. "It's a promise I promised to her."

Makarov nodded in approval, followed by Igneel's reluctant one.

"I was the one who found her when she was _literally_ bathed in blood and injured. I had to move her to another hospital since the doctor kept on asking her identity, which I didn't have any other option but to address her as my sister. It was a bad choice, but the hospital would refuse her if they didn't get her identity.

"I moved her to a small hospital in my hometown after that. She was in a coma for three-month long. It was truly a miracle for her to be awoken in such fast speed, according to the doctor. The next morning, when the doctor said I could visit her, I almost jumped in relief and happiness. I can't forget the first time I tried to see her," she said, her tone faltered and her eyes clouded on recalling of her memory.

Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Why? From your expression, it had to be a far-from-nice experience. Was she having some kind of amnesia?"

"Worse," she quickly replied. Her head tilted downward, making her bangs cover her eyes. But then, she pushed it away by pushing her forehead upwards using her hand.

A sad smile revealed. And she opened her mouth, but no sound was made. And she closed it again, followed with her eyes.

And, after some bits of silence thickly coated the space around them, she talked in a whisper, as soft as a silk, and light as a feather.

"She tried to gouge her eyes out with her hand."

A deep frown changed the sad smile.

Makarov could hardly believe what Mavis had said just now; while Igneel had his eyes open wide in astonishment. The old manager found himself not breathing for almost a minute-long, before taking down a big amount air to fill his lungs.

None of the two men comment about her statement. The look of disbelieves was visible on their faces. Igneel was the one who broke the silence, "And the reason was…"

"She felt guilty, an extreme amount of guilt to your family," her eyes narrowed, "especially to the boy."

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[ t r ]

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_"STOP!"_

_…What?_

_"Stop it!"_

_…Why?_

_"Stupid! Listen to me, will you!"_

_What I see is red,_

_"Kami-sama! Please, stop!"_

_"You're going to hurt yourself more!"_

_"Do you want to be blind?!"_

_scarlet red,_

_and white._

_And…_

_"…an..gel..?"_

_"Shut up! Don't talk!"_

_"Sensei! Sensei!"_

_What I see… is red,_

_beautiful_

_scarlet_

_red._

_White color disappeared._

_And hurt._

_"Lucy! Stop it!"_

_…Lucy?_

_Red liquid flowing,_

_restlessly,_

_from my eye._

_"Lucy! Stop it! Do you want to blind yourself or what?!"_

_…_

_..blind?_

_"I'… not going… to be blind, onee-san…"_

_"W-What…"_

_And then…_

_a smile, my best smile._

_I try to fool her,_

_but_

_who is she..?_

_"I just want…"_

_Ah_

_it doesn't matter_

_because_

_no one actually cares any more_

_ "–to die."_

_"STOP!"_

...

..

.

"Onee-chaaaan!"

Natsu turned his head towards the source of the voice. There was a kid running to them, wet yellow raincoat covered his over-sized black jacket.

"Onee-chan!" he called again, "Let's go back to- uwaaah!"

And then he fell, face-flat to the wet ground. The clearing was once again silent. A second passed. The leaves were rubbing each other, creating a pleasant sound in Natsu's ears. He looked up to the sky; the rain had stopped, only gray clouds drifting lazily to wherever the wind took them. The wind stopped, the leaves stilled.

The clearing was once again silent.

"D-Don't worry!" he yelled (still in the weird position), his voice echoed throughout the clearing, albeit muffled by the ground, "I'm fine! I'm not crying!"

The girl quickly walked to the boy, using her remaining senses to locate him. Natsu only stood there, silently wondering if she really could find the boy without actually making herself tripping, and slightly surprised when she was actually able to locate him and helped him to stand.

"Let's go back, nee-chan!" the boy said in a cheery tone, "I'm so hungry and you're soaked! Mavis-nee would scold you again for sure!"

The girl- Ayano nodded at the boy. He saw her turning her head in his direction. A small smile was visible as she mouthed something followed by a nod of head in what he thought as some sort of gratitude. The two quickly out of his sight. Natsu couldn't help but having a small wish of meeting her again.

He noticed; she shared the same smile as Lucy's. He hated it. He despised it. But…

_"Warm…"_

That smile…

He was not planning on letting it out of him anymore.

* * *

**to be continued-**

* * *

**a/n:**

Wow, it's been a really long time. Four weeks is sure a long time. Anyway, my friend at school who also read my previous fanfiction (treacherous) said that this one have the different style of writing. I noticed it right away, and honestly I'm perfectly fine writing with both style. But what about you? Which one you prefer? The old (the way I used to write on treacherous) or the new one (this style)?

I'm very sorry for the extreme lateness. From two weeks ago until the last friday was like hell for me. Mid-test was the most terrible thing for me. And another kind of shits happened (writer block and such). I'm sorry for this crappy chapter, though I tried my best to update sooner and make this chapter not just like another sucky filler chapter.

Please leave your thought? Review? Thank you!


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